Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Financial media followers most likely find it pretty much impossible to go about their day without reading a lot of messages about the "black swan" COVID-19 and its economic repercussions... but was the COVID-19 pandemic actually a black swan event?
It... well, depends on whom you ask.
If you ask Nassim Nicholas Taleb for example, the person who let's say popularized the black swan concept, you'd get a response which points to the exact opposite. More specifically, Taleb himself considers the COVID-19 pandemic a white swan event and has made it more than clear through numerous appearances as well as social media messages that he is sick and tired of individuals who hide behind the term "black swan" so as to somehow make their lack of preparedness excusable.
The more you analyze the pandemic from this perspective, the more reasonable the idea that it should be considered a white swan event becomes. As such, this debate is yet another example of an instance which makes it clear why having a firm grasp on terminology is a must as well as an example which makes it clear that pundits frequently and sometimes collectively make mistakes!
Financial media followers most likely find it pretty much impossible to go about their day without reading a lot of messages about the "black swan" COVID-19 and its economic repercussions... but was the COVID-19 pandemic actually a black swan event?
It... well, depends on whom you ask.
If you ask Nassim Nicholas Taleb for example, the person who let's say popularized the black swan concept, you'd get a response which points to the exact opposite. More specifically, Taleb himself considers the COVID-19 pandemic a white swan event and has made it more than clear through numerous appearances as well as social media messages that he is sick and tired of individuals who hide behind the term "black swan" so as to somehow make their lack of preparedness excusable.
The more you analyze the pandemic from this perspective, the more reasonable the idea that it should be considered a white swan event becomes. As such, this debate is yet another example of an instance which makes it clear why having a firm grasp on terminology is a must as well as an example which makes it clear that pundits frequently and sometimes collectively make mistakes!
